Taryn Simon will show her series Contraband, first presented in 2010 in New York and subsequently exhibited in the United States, Europe, Central and East Asia, and the Middle East at Anna Schwartz Gallery from From 2 April – 18 May. This is the first time the series will be shown in Australia.
Contraband comprises 1,075 photographs taken at both the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Federal Inspection Site and the U.S. Postal Service International Mail Facility, both located at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and functioning as liminal spaces between the U.S. and other nations. For one full working week, 24 hours per day, Simon remained on site, photographing items detained or seized from passengers and express mail entering the U.S. from abroad.

“Handbags, Louis Vuitton (disguised) (counterfeit)” [Detail] Handbags, Louis Vuitton (Counterfeit)

Contraband, 2010 Archival inkjet print 15.9 x 15.9 cm

© Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian and Anna Schwartz Gallery.